District Thirteen
by iryannaS
Summary: The story of District Thirteen's downfall and how it all started, told through the eyes of the girl who figured it all out.
1. Prologue

**I've been thinking about writing htis fanfic for a very long time now. But after reading Catching Fire, it solidified my decision to write this. (SPOILER IN THE NEXT SENTENCE) The thought of a living District Thirteen sparked the idea and I just had to do this. Now, I know I still have 'Frostbite' to finish, but who says I can't write two Hunger Games fanfic at once?**

**Disclaimer; If I owned this, thsi fanfic would be in the form of a book, not an online story. ;)**

**District Thirteen**

Prologue

I'm the one who figured it out, you know? The birds – I've never seen their species before. While we worked and went on with our daily routines, they were everywhere, and they were looking at us so attentively like they were listening to every word we said. At first, I didn't know they were recording us, of course. I just thought they were merely… _odd._

Birds usually fly away during the nighttime, back to their nests. But they stayed, those jabberjays. They watched us. I tested them, threw some worms or bread crumbs. They did not react easily, just stared at the food in curiosity. And then I finally realized it; they were muttations. The Capitol has been known to experiment with animals before. I told everyone that the birds could be like cameras, watching our every move, listening to our every word and sending those information back to the Capitol.

That was our initial thought. But when Leo caught one of them, it spoke. It repeated the words we said, and that's when we realize that they weren't like cameras – they were recorders. They took information, listened to conversations and then flew back to the Capitol (some left behind) to repeat the conversations over again.

We used them to our advantage, but that did not last long.


	2. Chapter One: Edelweiss, Edelweiss

**I personally don't like this chapter because I had major writers' block trying to finish it. It's just an introduction to life in District Thirteen along with the characters. Ugh, I can't wait to write the ending because that's the one I'm most excited to write about. Haha. Anyways, thanks to those who reviewed my story and put this on alert/favourites. Also, a great thanks to Caisha for helping me with the story. I truly appreciate it.**

**Chapter One – Edelweiss, Edelweiss **

"_There grows a white, white flower,_

_By the wild Alps of romance,_

_And who would reach its dainty leaves,_

_Takes life and death in chance,"_

The rain had started as a mere drizzle but now as I run back to my house, it is pouring heavily. My worn thin shoes splash into a puddle and soak my socks. I inwardly groan as I continue to rush through the rain. As I near my house I feel a tap on the shoulder and turn around. Azalea Liss, my best friend who coincidentally is my neighbor, waves me goodbye and runs to her house. I turn back and continue running until I reach the comfort of being safe inside. Before I can make my way to my room, I hear my Aunt Wisteria's voice calling me.

Ignore, ignore, ignore.

"Edel, did you hear me?" she says.

I almost reach the doorknob.

"Edelweiss Biddens!" she calls.

I flinch at the sound of my full first name. I've always hated the way it sounded, even though the flower I was named after is lovely. Sighing greatly, I reluctantly turn around to face my scowling aunt. I've been living with her and my cousins, Leo and Rosemary, ever since my parents died twelve years ago when I was five. The Hastings are from my mother's side and my aunt refuses to tell me and my sister why and how they died. Even if I try hard to remember, I was just too young to know anything. My uncle died five years ago while he was "mining graphite" when actually he died out of overexposure to acid. Everyone here knows District Thirteen is secretly responsible for nuclear weapons. Why the Capitol wants to cover that up is just unknown.

"Why are you late? School ended two hours ago, where have you been?" she demands, arching an eyebrow.

I sigh dramatically. "Aunt Wisteria, why does it always come as a surprise to you whenever I come home late? Really now, there's nothing to worry. I was just walking around the city center with Azalea – where else could we go?" I roll my eyes. It's not as if the Peacekeepers would let us go beyond the boundaries of District Thirteen. The other twelve districts, we can only imagine how they look like.

"Well, your sister was worried about you."

I turn back around to the door and just before I enter, I add in jestingly, "Don't worry, I know not to ever be later than two and a half hours – in fact, I'm thirty minutes early than usual."

I shut the door behind me and gasp. I roll my eyes at myself, thinking that I had seen a reflection of myself on my bed. My sister, Sage, and I look so much alike that sometimes people need to look at us carefully to differentiate us. According to our aunt, we inherited all of our mother's features; we have her long blonde curls falling past our shoulders, her hazel eyes, and her thin face. We look like her in every bit and, as our aunt says, if she was still alive, one might think we're triplets. But Sage is a year older than me and her face looks slightly more mature than mine.

"Edel, there you are!" she says in relief.

"Why aren't you at work, Sage?" I ask, making my way to my small cupboard in search of dry clothes.

Ignoring my question, she says, "Do you know if you keep this up, one day you might accidentally be a bit too late and you'll be late for curfew? Do you know what the Peacekeepers would do to you?"

I think District Thirteen is the only district to have a curfew – 7 pm, to be exact – because from what I heard and learned from school, the other districts have their workers work until the dead of night. Here in Thirteen, any type of work must be stopped or finished thirty minutes before curfew and people must not be outside after hours. It doesn't bother most people for they never worry if they won't get paid enough to support their families; a person who works in the labs to help create the nuclear weapons get good money and at least one person from each family must work there. So, District Thirteen isn't as poor as most would think, but they still treat us horribly. Mining graphite is a must, only because the Capitol doesn't want any suspicions. In our case, Leo is the miner and my sister (who has very good knowledge in Science) works in the labs.

Though my sister and I are similar in looks, we are like a beetle is to a butterfly personality-wise. To put it short, she's everything I'm not. While the only thing I'm ever brave enough to do is come home late from school, she can stand up to the bullies in school or hang around with boys. She's protective over me, which is why as I change into dry clothes, she is currently giving me a lecture about the curfew. I almost say she's starting to sound like a Peacekeeper but decide against it; she hates them and the Capitol. Working in the labs, everyone knows how smart she is in Science. Oh, and did I mention she's a wonderful athlete in school? She's perfect in every sense of that word and I am not. But it still comforts me to know that whenever someone is hurt or sick, they usually come to me for my knowledge in medicinal herbs. Aside from working in the labs, my mother had worked in an apothecary. I want to be like her.

"Do you understand, Edel?" she asks.

Since we're all choosing to ignore answering questions today, I repeat my previous question in reply, "Aren't you supposed to be at work, Sage?"

She sighs. "_Goodbye_, Edel."

No sooner did she walk out the door does little Rosemary come in. She's only five years old and when she was born, me and Sage were already here, and that made her think we were here actual sisters. "Edel, look," she whines, showing me her pinky finger.

"What is it, Rosie?" I ask, kneeling down to her height. I take her finger and inspect it carefully. It takes me almost five minutes to realize there is a small splinter stuck in there. "Oh, well, that must be irritating, huh? Don't worry, I'll get it out."

Rose is one of the few people that never fail to make me smile when she comes to me for help, when she chooses me over my beloved sister to go to. I squeeze her finger gently before pulling the splinter out with my nails which I like to keep long – just in case I might have to pull out splinters just like right now (or maybe even scratch someone).She gives me a quick 'thank you' before running outside, me following behind her and shutting the door.

"Aunt Wisteria, I'm going to go over to Azalea's house, okay?" I call out before exiting the house.

It's still raining heavily and I have to run again next door. I open the door easily and walk in; the Liss don't mind me just barging into their home because they're used to me coming over often, just like the Hastings don't mind when Azalea comes over. As I had expected, I find her in the living room along with her little brother, Ignatius, who is eight years old. She's the only daughter out of three children, her oldest brother, Theo, being one of Leo's best friends. Azalea became my best friend the moment we sat together during lunch in our first day of school. Both she and I thought that since were neighbors, we might as well sit together. Who knew it could lead to me thinking her as a second sister?

"Iggy and I were talking," she says as I sit next to her on the floor. "He says he wants to be a graphite miner – says it seems exciting. He asked me when I'm going to work in the labs. And then I said, _'what if I want to work in the mines with you?' _and he said, _'only boys can work there'._"

I raise an eyebrow at the young boy in front of me. "Well, what do you think of the labs, Iggy? Do you think it's fun to work there? Let's say there wasn't such a thing as mining – would you like to work there making weapons?"

His face lights up. "Yes! I think it's fun to wear white coats!"

Azalea and I laugh. "What if I said 'only girls can work there'?" It worked; his smile falls. "See? Just because most of the men work at the mines, it doesn't mean women can't work there too. It's the same with working at the labs, too."

Azalea smirks, pulling her little brother on to her lap. "Why didn't you bring Rosie along?" she asks me, but her eyes are on her brother whose cheeks immediately turn pink upon hearing Rosie's name.

I gasp, leaning forward. "Does someone have a crush on Rosemary Hastings?" I ask, ruffling his auburn hair, which is the same as his sister's. "Ignatius and Rosemary Liss. Aww, don't you think that sounds like a happy couple, Lea?"

"Oh, look, he's blushing. His cheeks are so _rosey_!"

Iggy buries his wide green and red face behind his palms as Azalea and I continue teasing him. Rosie is a sweet, adorable little girl – who wouldn't have a crush on her?


	3. Chapter Two: Realization

**I forgot to mention that the poem in the last chapter is by Frank Wilmot. Thank you to those who reviewed me! I know it's only been chapter two, but I want to apologize if you think I'm rushing this story. If anyone is curious, I imagine Edel to look like Elisabeth Harnois and Anna Lutoskin to be Azalea. Here's chapter two. Enjoy.**

**Chapter Two – Realization**

Azalea and I had decided to risk it. Despite my aunt's wishes and my sister's many warnings, we had decided to go out. We left Iggy at my house so he could play with Rose (I bet he is ecstatic) and I told Aunt Wisteria I'd be staying over at Azalea's house for awhile and I even promised her I would be home by the time all the workers are dismissed. Azalea and I, we walked around the City Centre for awhile, admiring things that we can afford but are forced to pretend like we couldn't. We bumped into other friends – well, _acquaintances_—at school and conversed with them for awhile. We did everything we could just to avoid going back to our dull houses.

Back when Azalea and I were still newly acquainted, she and I had tried to make our relationship closer. So she had suggested we both go explore the places we've never gone before in District Thirteen (though now after so many trips, we've gone to every place possible and nothing seems new anymore). I hadn't been excited then for my idea of bonding had been to study together. She has always been the adventurous one between us both and now she has influenced me in many ways as I have towards her. Since Aunt Wisteria and Mrs. Liss wanted us to become the best of friends, they had given us permission to go out, as long as we came home on time – much to my dismay, really, because I had really wanted to just stay home and study. How ironic for if I want to go out now, Aunt Wisteria would give me a whole lecture.

We found this old abandoned house near the fences bordering District Thirteen and the forbidden forests. The gap between the house and the fence is a vast land of tall grasses and at the far corner of it was this big tall tree that, if we had the skill, we could have built a tree house on it. Azalea, being the very easily excited one, had rushed into the field leaving me behind to worry about if there were snakes or other frightening creatures hiding in the tall grasses. I was amazed of how carefree and brave Azalea had been to rush in there and when she turned around to call me over, I almost backed away. She told me to trust her when she said there was nothing in there, that I should just relax. And that was when I saw how similar she and Sage were. I learned to trust her, because if she was like Sage, then I had no reason to doubt her.

I ran forwards, leaving all my worries behind and followed her as she climbed up the big tree. We sat there and looked out at the field surrounding us. Just to put my mind to rest, Azalea suggested we waited and see if there really was anything hiding the grasses. We waited but the only thing that had made the grass move was the wind. I was convinced that it was safe and let her pull me down to run around there. After that day, we spent most of our time in that field. I'm sure that we weren't allowed to go there, but it wasn't as if anyone could spot us in the depths of the tall grass. Even in winter we went there, we perched ourselves on the highest branch of the tree. We named the tree 'Autumn' just for fun but the name stuck and that was the name we used so others wouldn't know our secret place.

That is where Azalea and I are right now; sitting on the branches of our dear Autumn, conversing about things we'd forget about in the morning. The field is still and silent as it has always been and it provokes us into our own peaceful silence.

"I don't want to be just the same as everyone, you know?" she suddenly says.

I have to look up at her because she is sitting two branches higher than me. "What do you mean?"

"I don't want to be just another person working in the labs or be a miner. I want… to be, oh I don't know… _something else_. I want to be the mayor."

I blurt out a laugh. "A mayor, Lea?" I repeat, climbing up one branch. "I don't think being a mayor is going to be easy."

She shakes her head. "No, not a mayor, but… you don't understand what I mean."

I furrow my eyebrows. That sentence caught my attention because I've always been the one to understand her just like she understands me. "Why are you suddenly worried about this, Lea? I thought you didn't like talking about work?"

"No. No, nevermind, Edel. Just forget I said anything, okay?"

I hesitate before leaning back against the tree and looking back towards the sky. I would have questioned her further but it might not be important. Autumn has usually been a place where we can shed away our problems even if it's only temporarily. We continue our silence and… well, I don't know how we both could have fallen asleep. Perhaps the sound of the whistling wind became our lullaby and the swaying of the grass pulled us into slumber. But feeling myself slowly slide off the branch awoke me immediately.

"Azalea!" I call out, shaking her but not hard enough to make her fall. "Wake up!"

Her eyes open immediately. "What? Huh? What time is it?"

I look around and it takes me a long time to realize that it is almost dark. "Oh, it's… it's almost dark." I say lazily, still a bit sleepy. Finally, when it dawns on me, I jump down from the tree in panic. "Azalea, it's almost dark!"

"Yes, you told me the first time. I heard you," she replies, clearly still sleepy and not understanding.

"_Curfew!_" I almost shout.

That wakes her up immediately and she doesn't waste time in jumping down the tree. Without saying a word, she takes my hand and we run together out the field, making our way to our houses. We've never been this late before and I'm sure Aunt Wisteria is going to kill me if Sage hasn't. Our footsteps echo off the buildings in the town centre. Everyone has gone back home, we are the only ones still out. My eyes take a quick glance at the clock set high on one of the taller buildings and see we only have seven minutes left before half past seven. I would have run faster if it wasn't for the fact that Azalea had pulled me behind a pillar and press her hands atop my mouth.

I give her a questioning look as she buries her face in my hair. "Peacekeeper," she whispers.

I squeeze my eyes shut and press my body harder against the pillar, hoping that I could somehow just blend in with it. I hear the Peacekeeper's footsteps going here and there, bouncing off the walls. Oh, I just hope he didn't hear our tremendously loud and hasty footsteps before – or is it the reason why he sounds like he is searching for something? Azalea's hand is still pressed against my mouth, sparing me from doing so because she knows my breathing isn't so silent when I'm panicking.

I risk a glance towards the clock and I find out we've only got five more minutes before curfew. The longer we stay here, the more trouble we will be getting ourselves in. Standing so close to me, I can feel Azalea's heartbeat quickening every second. I remove her hand from my mouth carefully and place my lips next to her ears. "We have to get back home," I whisper as I silently as I can.

She nods her head and looks up. "We have to run."

My eyes widen and I shake my head immediately. Run? But the Peacekeeper will see us and I can't risk that – I'm too _afraid_ to risk that. As if sensing this, she clutches my hand tightly and, knowing her for a long time now, I already know what she's going to do. I try resisting but at times like this, she can become very strong. She starts running, pulling me roughly with her. I realize it's too late to resist and doing so would just slow both of us down, so I run as fast as I can, which leads to me pulling _her_. Less than four minutes, that's all the time we have. All the adrenaline pumping through my veins make my legs feel rather stiff and numb and I almost reach my house when I suddenly fall down. I release my death grip on Azalea so she wouldn't fall with me.

"Edel!" she says.

I shake my head and push her away. Her house is so near, she shouldn't be wasting her time trying to help me. "Go! Just go!"

She hesitates but after a warning glare from me, she starts running to her house. I can hear the faint footsteps of the Peacekeeper somewhere behind me and I immediately pull myself up. I see Azalea standing safely inside her house near the window, urging me to hurry up. This feeling of panic, it is making my legs feel so heavy. I reach the front door and rush in, falling to the floor once I know I'm safely inside.

"Edel!" I hear Sage's voice.

All I can do for a few agonizing seconds is let familiar hands pull me up. I don't know what happened, why my legs suddenly stopped working. I don't why they have become so numb but right now there is an aching. I look up to see Leo, his face a mask of worry. He's only eighteen, like Sage, but he looks old enough to be twenty-five. His strong arms wrap around my shoulders holding my shaking body up, facing the doorway. I wish he didn't face me that way because I'm forced to watch as the Peacekeeper Azalea and I had been running from walk up our steps. Aunt Wisteria stands in front of him, folding her arms across her chest.

"May I help you, sir?" she asks, her voice sharp.

"That girl," he spits. "She's breaking curfew."

"There's still--" she pauses to check the clock "—a _minute_ to spare, sir."

"Well, she's still late! Move out of my way, lady!"

Sage gently pushes Aunt Wisteria out of the way. "No, you can't have her," she says, trying to keep her voice calm.

Leo leaves my side to stand next to my sister, and they both make a solid wall between me and the Peacekeeper. Aunt Wisteria takes his place in trying to hold me up. My body can't stop shaking and with every second that passes, my heart beats quicker than it did. Leo and Sage, they're both willing to protect me. Their wall does not allow me to see the Peacekeeper, but I think I prefer it that way. His face is too frightening, I might just faint.

"Would you two like to share a whipping with her?" the Peacekeeper asks.

"Hold on," says Leo. "Technically, she did not break curfew. So, you have nothing to hold against her."

"She is still late!"

Sage shakes her head. "There is no rule saying that no one is allowed to be outside five minutes before curfew."

"She's right," Leo continues. "Speaking of which, the rule that says everyone should leave work thirty minutes before curfew does not apply that one can't still walk around outside. So, really now, you have nothing to hold against my cousin."

My breath gets caught in my throat as the Peacekeeper stays silent. I wonder what he is thinking right now. Sage and Leo, they gave good points. The Peacekeeper has nothing at all to hold against me, so I should be safe.

"Fine," he huffs. "But this will be the last time she – _anyone _– gets away with a mistake like that."

I can't see but I just know my sister is smirking when she says with as much bitterness as she could, "Have a good evening, sir."

Aunt Wisteria leads me to the living room to sit down while Sage closes the door. Rose sits next to me, putting her small arms around my waist and giving me a hug. I hug her back, but my body feels so weak right now. I hear the footsteps as Sage and Leo enter the room. We are caught in an uncomfortable, agonizing silence. I shake my head and decide to break this deafening silence. "I… I don't know what to say."

And everyone starts talking at once. I block out their words, looking down at my feet and putting my arms around Rose, who seems to be the only one who isn't saying anything. Everyone's voices slowly start to quiet down and I look up to see Sage kneeling in front of me, her eyes filled with tears. Aunt Wisteria tells Leo to take Rose to the kitchen as she herself exits the room. Sage waits for them both to leave before standing back up and start pacing the room.

"Damn it, Edel!" she says. "Do you know how close you were to getting a whipping? What were you thinking? Why were you late? I suppose I spoke too soon this afternoon, didn't I? I knew something like this was going to happen , that's why I keep telling you over and _over _again to be careful, to always watch the clock! Are you even listening to me, Edel?!"

"I am!" I snap. "Trust me, I am, alright?!"

She walks over to me and kneels down, taking both my hands in her own. "I love you, you know that, right? You're the only thing I have left and I can't bear to watch you get punished." She rests her forehead on my knuckles and I know she's trying to restrain herself from sobbing.

"I know," I whisper. "I'm so sorry. I'll never do it again."


End file.
